The former owner of Aloha Airlines said it plans to appeal a decision barring go! airline from taking over the Aloha trade name.

Yucaipa Co. filed a notice with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court yesterday that said it will seek to overturn bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King's May 14 ruling prohibiting Yucaipa from acquiring the Aloha name.

Yucaipa wants the Aloha trade name so that it can license it to go!'s parent, Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, for a minimum of $6 million.

The 10-year deal — part of a settlement of an antitrust lawsuit in which Aloha alleged that Mesa attempted to drive it out of business — was harshly criticized by King and by unions representing former Aloha workers.

In his legal opinion, King said he considered Mesa and Yucaipa "co-purchasers" of Aloha's intellectual property due to the licensing deal and that Mesa's past misconduct warranted disqualification.

King noted that Mesa "succeeded in inflicting great harm" on Aloha and thousands of the former airline's employees.

A spokesman for go! would not comment, saying he has not seen Yucaipa's filing.

In the past, the company has denied that it is a co-bidder for the Aloha intellectual properties. It said Yucaipa's attempt to purchase the defunct airline's trade name is separate from the settlement between Yucaipa and Mesa.

Aloha, once the state's No. 2 carrier, closed on March 31, 2008, due to soaring fuel prices and a fare war initiated by go!'s June 2006 start-up.

Yucaipa's filing did not provide the legal reasons for seeking to overturn King's order.

Those arguments will likely be made in court filings with the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals or the U.S. District Court in Honolulu, where the appeal will be heard.